Myles Neighbors was just 9 years old the last time Tiger Woods sported his signature Sunday-red shirt to win a major championship, but the 19-year-old Arkansas cowboy wore bright red for Championship Sunday anyway.
“I don’t quite remember Tiger Woods golfing,” Neighbors, a freshman at Northeast Texas Community College, joked. “But I did save my red shirt for today, because it’s my favorite.”
Neighbors came into the final event of the Jr. Ironman second, behind California’s Nelson Wyatt. Neighbors, a Jr. NFR qualifier and RFD-TV’s The American qualifier in the steer wrestling, was glad to have his best event be his last.
“It was definitely a relief to have steer wrestling be the last event,” Neighbors said. “I thought I broke the barrier, but I knew I had a really good steer, so I just wanted to make a good run on him.”
Neighbors 4.2-second bull dogging run was the fastest run of the event and the third fastest of the whole weekend, including Cinch Timed Event Championship competition.
Hansen drew a tricky bull dogging steer, and despite having a 33.5-second lead on Neighbors going into the final event, couldn’t get the steer jumped. He took a 60 and finished second, taking a $5,000 check home to California. Bo Yaussi, last year’s champion, took home third worth $2,000.
Neighbors, who is also a 2016 National Little Britches Rodeo Association steer wrestling world champion, won the first go round in 2017 and the second round in 2018.
“My goal is to compete at the Timed Event someday,” Neighbors said. “This is my last year of eligibility for the Jr. Ironman. But I want to practice, and I want to get to compete here some day against guys like Trevor Brazile and be one of the next great Timed Event competitors.”
Calf roping and steer wrestling on his PRCA permit in 2018, Neighbors, who also got $1,000 for the second go-round win, said the money will go to help pay for a new steer wrestling horse to help get him up and down the round.
